Huey, Norton to miss Wyoming game

Less than two weeks into the season, UT is facing the prospect of playing without as many as six members of its opening depth chart. Coach Mack Brown confirmed Monday that starting offensive guard Michael Huey (ankle) and starting linebacker Jared Norton (shoulder) will not play Saturday against Wyoming, and they could be out longer than that.

Brown did not have any updates on the status of wide receiver Brandon Collins, safety Christian Scott and cornerback Deon Beasley, who were held out of last week’s opener due to unresolved NCAA academic eligibility issues.

The Longhorns also aren’t counting on running back Fozzy Whittaker, who didn’t play in the opener because of a knee injury and isn’t a sure thing for Wyoming, either.

To make up for the absences of the sidelined players, sophomore David Snow will start at right guard, with freshman Mason Walters as his top backup. Tray Allen, who had been cross-training on the offensive and defensive lines, will now move back to offense exclusively and is listed as second-string at left guard and left tackle.

At linebacker, senior Roddrick Muckelroy will slide from the weak side to the middle — where he started in the nickel package anyway — sophomore Emmanuel Acho will remain the starter on the strong side, and sophomore Keenan Robinson will be the starter on the weak side.

In the secondary, things should play out pretty similarly to how they did in the opener, with Aaron Williams at the nickel and Chykie Brown and Curtis Brown holding down the cornerback spots. But expect more playing time for true freshman Kenny Vaccaro, who has impressed coaches all summer and won last week’s “big hit” award on special teams.

And at tailback, Vondrell McGee remains the starter despite losing two fumbles. Cody Johnson is listed as the second-stringer, although Week 1 star D.J. Monroe will continue to get a look. He can’t be used in pass-protection situations and his he’s still limited in terms of the playbook, but offensive coordinator Greg Davis said it might be realistic to expect Monroe to play 15-20 snaps per game at some point this season.